May 15 - May 21, 2023

Issue No. 485

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Memories of Oakland

October 17, 1989. The third game of the A’s vs Giants World Series. Amaury Pi-González (left) and Evelio Areas Mendoza, at Candlestick Park, San Francisco minutes before the 6.9 Loma Prieta Earthquake shook the Bay Area and postponed the Series for 10 days. KNTA 1430AM Radio, Santa Clara. (Photo APG Sports)

The Athletics' Last World Series Title

by Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Some things in life are truly unpredictable, like an earthquake

during a World Series. And that was the story in 1989, the first and only time in history.

That year the Oakland A’s won 99 games and their division by seven games over the Kansas City Royals. The San Francisco Giants also won their division with 92 wins by three games over the San Diego Padres.

In October they both had a date for the 1989 World Series.

Game One: October 14 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Dave Stewart threw a gem as he pitched a complete game, blanking the Giants on five hits as the A’s won, 5-0, in front of 49,385 fans. In 1989 Stew ended with a 21-9 record, a 3.32 ERA during his penultimate season of four years in a row of 20-plus wins.

Game Two is back at the Coliseum. The A’s won 5-1 and took a two games lead. Mike Moore “took his time” and dominated the Giants lineup for seven innings and the bullpen did its usual job the rest of the way. That year Moore ended with 19-11 and a 2.62 earned run average pitching in 241 2/3 innings.

Game Three, October 17: It was a very warm day with temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees around the Bay Area. A temperature of 81 was registered in downtown San Francisco, hours before the first pitch of the game, on a very muggy day -- what people here in California call Earthquake Weather.

I left earlier than usual from Fremont to Candlestick Park, about a 40 mile drive. Since it was the World Series between the two bay area teams, I knew there was going to be traffic and there was -- an hour-plus drive time.

As I arrived at Candlestick, I first went to check the A’s Spanish broadcast booth. It was an auxiliary booth just a few feet away under the roof of the stadium. My broadcast partner was Evelio Areas Mendoza, who lived near San Francisco. Our engineer, Erwin Higueros, was working our broadcast.

After checking our booth, I went down to the field to conduct The Tony La Russa Show, a short three minute pregame show and then returned to my booth. In 1989 we needed broadcast lines, and a couple of telephones in case we went off the air, which little I knew at that time, was going to be the case a few minutes after 5 PM.

The hectic moment was about to happen. Our pregame show was usually 15 minutes, but because these were World Series games, we got 30 minutes of pregame airtime. The general manager at KNTA 1430 AM in Santa Clara was Gene Hogan, one of the real good guys running radio stations in those years. He loved sports. We played the Tony La Russa pregame segment, which this time was a little longer than the usual three minutes on regular season games.

I remember Evelio Medoza and yours truly were talking about the difference between the A’s and Giants fans and other topics, like the history of both teams since their arrival in the Bay Area, and regular baseball stuff. At that same time, when we were on the air that little auxiliary booth shook like somebody had pushed us up to the roof. I honestly thought I was “buying the farm.” We kept talking but we lost the broadcast lines.

We were lucky the telephone line was still alive so we chatted for a few minutes and sent it back to the studios via the telephone. I was surprised the radio station never went off the air, although some others in the bay area did lose their signal.

The earthquake happened at 5:04 PM, give or take a minute or so, and the game was scheduled to start at 5:35 PM our time, 8:35 PM East Coast time. Later as I went down to the regular press box, I watched KPIX CH 5 on a monitor as Ana Chávez, the anchor, was showing a video of the Bay Bridge. The tremors caused a portion of the Bay Bridge to collapse onto the lower deck and raging fires of various homes were in San Francisco’s Marina District. It was a 6.9 earthquake, called the Loma Prieta Earthquake, and it also acquired the name of the World Series Earthquake.

A couple of hours later, when it was quiet, I drove out of the Candlestick Park parking lot but the Bay Bridge was closed as well as other bridges and I had to drive down south on Hwy 101, around the bay. I was taking Erwin back to his place in Oakland and later Evelio in San Francisco.

At a service station maybe a quarter mile from Candlestick Park was José Canseco, still wearing his A’s uniform, filling his car with gasoline. I also stopped to check on my mom. She was fine, however scared and shaken like many others. Unfortunately there were others in the bay area were not that lucky.

That was one of the longest days of my life. I got home before midnight. The Fall Classic was postponed for 10 days, played again on October 27, and the Athletics won the last two games and took the trophy via a sweep. The A’s no. 1 pitcher, Dave Stewart, won the MVP.

Because the game was at 5:00 PM, it has been attributed to saving lots of lives. Everybody was either home, watching the game, or left earlier to get to The Stick on time for the game.

I recommend Goodbye Oakland, a great book by Andy Dolich and Dave Newhouse. A fascinating tour of Oakland sports history and a look toward the future of professional sports in the East Bay. Oakland is a sports city like no other.

* * *

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburgh and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Publisher: Christopher Weills

Marketing Director: Robert Moselle

Director of Sales: Ann Cooke

Staff Photographers: Jeff Bayer, Alex Ho, Ed Jay, Jose Nickel, Ron Sellers, Darren Yamashita, Rich Yee. Kenny Karst (retired).

Contributors: Steve Chain, Harvey Cohen, Andy Dolich, Pete Elman, Rob Flammia, Bruce Macgowan, Robert Moselle, Dave Newhouse, Arnie Passman, Howard Pearlstein, Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, T. Buff,

Shelia Young

Social Media: Jenny Kim

Website: www.UltimateSportsGuide.net

Letters to the Editor

NEW Sports Today Tournament: Pick The NBA Finalists

In Sports Today's second Non-profit Tournament"©️, the goal was to pick the NBA finalists, both East & West, winner to receive Sports Today promotion for their favorite Non-profit.

Regrettably, this particular Tournament challenge proved too great for even the erudite Sports Today readership. The two contestants to make it through early rounds each had the Warriors to win the West (we respect loyalty and will leave the "what ifs" for others). For the East, bona fide psychic Dennis Shary had "predicted" the 76ers, and Robert Moselle had picked the N.Y. Knicks, a salute to days of yore. So, there can be no Official Winner of Tournament #2.

In Sports Today's NCAA "30-1 Longshot" Tournament (won by Jerry Monkman who had U. Conn), Sports Today's prized promotion generated donations for the True Winners, the Bali Children's Project (BCP), and although there are no technical winners of this Challenge,

we shall extend the promotion from the "NCAA 30-1 Final Four" tournament and salute the "NBA East-West Finalists" entrants with an encore promotion for the non-profit Winner, www.balichildrensproject.org. They are most grateful for the publicity and donations. We hope you will visit BCP's website to learn of their fabulous work.

Enjoy the games and future Sports Today "Non-profit Tournaments!" A Winner Every Time!

Have fun and help people!

Robert Moselle

https://www.cce-mcle.com/

Poole Party? Where's the Poole?

Neither words nor emotions can express the depression felt by Warriors fans as the team exits the stage. Let us hope the urge for self-destructive venomous comments or psychoanalysis in the wake of elimination does not get personal or petty. It wasn't Poole's fault (currently the #1 scapegoat), or any one player. It's just how it all played out. As the NCAA Final Four showed, "all bets are off" these days, as that finale featured two 5's , a 4 and a 6.

Post-elimination, if you still follow the NBA tournament, it's probably to watch your least-favorite teams lose, rather than who wins. That may work for many, but it's not a great use of my time. Kruk and Kuip, we need you.

Kristen La Rue

San Francisco, CA

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Contents

Columns

Hardly Trivial by T. Buff

Games

Oakland A's 2, Seattle Mariners 7

Oakland Roots SC 3, Orange County SC 0

Oakland Soul 1, Olympic Club 0

Oakland Spiders 25, Salt Lake Shred 27 (overtime)

San Francisco Giants 3, Milwaukee Brewers 7

San Jose Earthquakes 1, LA Galaxy 2

Features & Commentary

A Tribute to Dave Wilcox, Vide Blue and Joe Kapp, by Dave Newhouse

Aaaargghhh!, by Howard Pearlstein

Chuck Norris, from the Autograph Collection of Rich Yee

Consider A Donation

Looking Ahead, by Dave Newhouse

The Athletics' Last World Series Title, by Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Warriors, An Appreciation, by Pete Elman

Vida Blue, Blazing Left-Handed Pitcher, by Bruce Macgowan

Organizations

Cal Bears

Golden Gate Fields

Oakland A's

Oakland Roots SC

Oakland Soul

Oakland Spiders

Saint Mary's College Gaels

San Francisco Giants

San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose State Spartans

Santa Clara Broncos

Sonoma Raceway

St. Francis Yacht Club

Stanford Cardinal

University of Pacific Tigers

USF Dons

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Goodbye, For Now...

The Warriors: An Appreciation

by Pete Elman

When I finally went to bed Friday night, stunned, saddened and shocked at the way my beloved team went out--after a decade of magic and miracles--I was going to call this column, Post-Mortem for the Proud, Part Two: The End of an Era.

On June 14, 2019, Sports Today published my original Post-Mortem for the Proud, in the immediate aftermath of that heartbreaking loss to Toronto in the finals.

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But today, after 48 hours of regrouping, reflecting, and reading all that has been written in the wake of that painful loss to the Lakers by the best Bay Area sports journalists, I realized that recycling that title for a piece about the decline—and possibly death--of the dynasty would not only not be fair, it may not even be true.

Nobody is fooling themselves around here. We do not need to get into the specifics of the salary cap issues, the vets vs. young guys discussion, Joe Lacob’s wallet, Draymond’s contract, Bob Myers’ future, or which players prevented us from advancing. There is enough Monday morning quarterbacking to go around.

To the contrary, I want to pay tribute to how incredibly gutsy, courageous, resilient, loyal and classy these guys are—and have been for a decade.

Take Andrew Wiggins. He missed two months, retreating to his family home in Canada to be with his ailing father, missing 25 games that he knew would impact his team tremendously. And his teammates and coaches-- to a man--never said a word about why he was gone or suggested he was letting his team down. He came back for the playoffs, and Friday night he suited up—and played with a broken rib.

Take Klay Thompson. He is still not 100% after coming back from two career-threatening injuries, and had three of the worst games a Hall of Famer can have in a playoff series, perhaps due to his desire to perform well in front of his family and friends, trying to live up to the legacies of Jerry West, Kareem, Magic and his childhood idol, Kobe Bryant. His dream became a nightmare.

But when asked after Friday’s disappointing loss, “How much do you still believe in the core of his team having the potential to go all the way?” Klay, visibly down, responded, “It stings, but I believe we have greatness in our future.”

Take Draymond Green, whose future here is the subject of much speculation. He took the podium, articulate, sincere and reflective, congratulated the Lakers, and took responsibility. “Every season is made up of events; some are great, some are not. Overall, we are not done yet. We lost this year—we’ll be back next year. I want to return and ride out with the same dudes I rode in with.”

Take Steph Curry, the modest superstar who shows no signs of slowing down, who carried the team on his back much of the past three years. He said after the game, “For us, this is an opportunity for us take stock of where we’re at, keep the confidence that we can come back next year. We have to accept it and move on.”

And, finally, I give you Steve Kerr, who said he still believes that this team has championship potential. “We didn’t get there---but this is not the end of the road,” he said. That is a bold statement, coming from a future Hall of Fame coach who saw his players struggle this season. But as unlikely as that may sound, when Kerr says it, it doesn’t sound crazy. God knows he has earned the right to believe it.

Many of us have been Warrior fans for decades, all the way back to the glorious 1974-75 season that culminated in a stunning upset sweep of the Baltimore Bullets, by the original strength in numbers team, led by Al Attles and Rick Barry.

We suffered through the losing 1980’s; had a moment of joy with the RUN TMC team in 1991-92; endured the pain of the Chris Cohan years; celebrated the short-lived We Believe era, but kept the faith, filling up the Coliseum arena night-after-night, year-after-year, holding on long enough to witness not just the rebirth of a franchise, but the ushering in of a championship group whose motto has been, “play with joy.”

As tempting and romantic as it is to wax poetic and reminisce nostalgically for this group, I, for one, am not ready to write their epitaph, their post-mortem. As long as they have their core and can make some necessary tweaks to the roster, they will be relevant. They might not be done.

When a championship team as special as the Golden State Warriors, who have given us untold thrills over the past decade, stumbles, it is not time to bury them.

It is time to appreciate them.

Pete Elman, Rockridge

May 15, 2023

* * *

Pete Elman is the author of an outstanding new book, Insights and Outakes, a collection of sports essays covering Bay Area teams and sports personalities. For more information, see below.

Golden State Warriors

Looking Ahead

by Dave Newhouse

Dynasty or duds, these Warriors won’t return status quo next season.

This isn’t a brilliant projection, because no basketball team looks the same year-after-year, not even a dynasty. But which Warriors stay, and who goes?

To answer that, let’s start at the top with general manager Bob Meyers, the architect of this Warriors dynasty. His contract is up, and it would be disastrous to let him slip away. But Meyers is a diverse soul, and he might have other pursuits in mind. He would be a major loss, regardless.

And what about Steve Kerr? We don't really know how he felt when one of his players, Draymond Green, punched a teammate, Jordan Poole, during the preseason? Did Kerr truly believe strongly in Green to forgive such a grievous act? Or did Kerr want to get rid of him and was rejected by Warriors management?

Perhaps Kerr, a sharp coach and a decent man, felt deeply inside that he had lost control of the team when The Punch occurred? Remember what Bill Walsh said, that after 10 years of coaching one team, in his case the 49ers, the players don’t listen intently to a coach's comments because they’ve heard them all before. Kerr has coached the Warriors for nine seasons, and Green clearly wasn’t “listening” to Kerr when he threw that surprise haymaker.

Even if Kerr returns as coach -- apparently with Green in uniform, reportedly with a new contract awaiting him — what kind of team will he have? Decisions must be made in order to rejuvenate this Warriors dynasty. For no team, regardless of the sport, stays on top forever. The Warriors need a kick start, desperately.

If the big three — Green, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson — all return, they won’t be enough to win another NBA championship. Curry and Thompson may have slipped toward the end of the Los Angeles Lakers series, but they still are a dual force to start another run. However, they’ll need help, mainly up front.

We all witnessed what Anthony Davis did to the Warriors, for they had no one to guard him, eye-to-eye. Well, they did have someone, namely James Wiseman, who now plays for Detroit. The Warriors opted to let him go, and then attack teams with Gary Payton II, who’s a talented player, but on the short side. Wiseman is a 7-footer with limited hoops experience, but the Warriors gave him no chance to develop. Why give up on him so soon?

Thus unless the Warriors acquire a tall tree in a trade or through the draft, this dynasty of a forest will become felled timber.

The Warriors likely will keep Green and dispense with Poole, who isn’t the most disciplined player. The puncher stays and the punched one goes? Don’t forget, the puncher got a one game suspension during an NBA championship series, which the Warriors lost. Green is a valuable player, but a loose cannon, yet the Warriors covet him like the prodigal son. Strange, just strange.

There is potential on the Warriors bench, but I don’t see another Shaun Livingston, do you? Still, just one or two valuable additions to lessen the offensive pressure on Curry and Thompson is vital, preferably a 7-footer to confront Anthony Davis and other redwoods. Height wins more games than 3-point shooters.

But will Kerr still be coaching, and Meyers overseeing, next season’s Warriors? Such pivotal questions, but if it doesn’t all come together, bye-bye dynasty.

* * *

Cherished Lost Stars

The San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dave Wilcox, right, with the team’s quarterback, John Brodie, after the 49ers beat the Oakland Raiders, 38-7, in a 1970 game. Brodie once said Wilcox was “the best outside linebacker that has ever played the game — by a long way.”

A Tribute to Dave Wilcox,

Vida Blue,

and Joe Kapp

by Dave Newhouse

Once an athlete lifts himself onto a pedestal, his heroism becomes eternal in our minds, perpetuating a glory without closure. And so we bade farewell to three Bay Area sports icons — Dave Wilcox, Vida Blue, Joe Kapp — who left us recently with legacies worth admiring.

Wilcox died April 19 of heart disease at 80. A Pro Football Hall of Fame outside linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1970s, he was known as The Intimidator because he rarely yielded yardage. Tight ends, pulling guards, and running backs all discovered they couldn't intimidate The Intimidator.

“He was a game-changer who set the bar for outside linebackers in that era,” said Skip Vanderbundt, who played the opposite outside linebacker position for the 49ers with Wilcox. “People measured outside linebackers back then against Dave, because he was The Guy.”

Wilcox was a 49er for 11 seasons, making the Pro Bowl seven seasons, and named All-Pro five times. He wasn’t often quoted, because his ego-less personality eschewed publicity. But his legacy grew notwithstanding, because one of his sons, Josh, caught a touchdown pass in the Rose Bowl, while another son, Justin, is the current head football coach at Cal. And like their famous father, they, too, lettered at the University of Oregon.

“He was just my dad,” Justin said this past week. “He was a great football player, but I wouldn’t reduce him too just that. I wasn’t influenced by that, because he was a very humble person who was very content with who he was -- very gracious, not a complicated guy.”

Thus his closest ties with his two boys was in building character, not seeking headlines. You see, there were numerous chores to do on the family farm in Junction City, OR, and the father was very much a man of the land, intimidating the soil.

“He was emphatic about getting involved with something, but whatever you started, you had to finish,” said Justin. “You can play sports or work on the farm, but there was no way of quitting.”

Coaching football is often more consuming than playing the game, but had father advised son in that regard, because Justin still is improving the Cal program?

“It’s more just about behavior, that after a tough loss or a tough season, to take the high road and don’t be impacted by extraneous factors,” Justin said of his hardly intrusive dad. “Do the best that you can do and don’t be apologetic. He had a pretty tight circle, not a lot of friends. I’m like that. I don’t look for validation.”

Vida Blue was a three-time World Series champion for the Oakland A's in 1972, 1973, 1974 and the AL MVP in 1971

Vida Blue died May 6 at 73 of an unspecified cause. He was a Cy Young Award recipient and American League Most Valuable Player — in the same season — in 1971, when this Oakland A’s southpaw flamethrower was 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA, along with eight shutouts and 24 complete games. Pure Koufaxian.

Then ensued a contract struggle with miserly owner Charles O. Finley, which stymied Blue’s ascendance, though he rallied to help the A’s win three consecutive World Series. He later pitched for San Francisco and Kansas City in a career interrupted with substance abuse issues. He finished with a 209-161 record and 3.27 ERA, just shy, so far, of Cooperstown consideration.

“He was a close friend, a great teammate,” said Billy North, an A’s outfielder during that 1970s dynasty. “He was so personable, connecting with kindness. He could work a room. He was very effusive, and exuded an aura of respectability.”

Just like his mound aura. Blue commanded respect with his dominating heat.

“Vida was pure power,” North noted. “His fast ball would explode on you, and then he’d come at you with a slurve — a back-foot slider. He could get out (of a game) in an hour-fifty.”

After his post-Cy Young-MVP double, Blue was a holdout in 1972.

“Finley was vicious; Vida wasn’t vicious,” North recalled. ‘Vida wouldn’t go against authority. He didn’t bring any invective toward the owner. Vida is in my hall of fame as a person. He had personal issues (regarding stimulants), but if there was a bullet coming towards him, I’d have jumped in front of him in a New York second.”

Quarterback Joe Kapp once threw seven touchdowns in a game

Joe Kapp, 85, died May 8 of complications involving Alzheimer’s Disease. He had a storied career, playing football and basketball at Cal in the 1950s before becoming the only athlete to play in the Rose Bowl, Grey Cup and Super Bowl. He later was head football coach at Cal, and though compiling a losing record, he is remembered for concocting The Play, which won the memorable 1982 Big Game.

Concocting? Kapp devised a Sunday drill known as “Grabazz” (use your imagination), in which Cal players would lateraled a football extemporaneously in order to keep it alive, which resulted in the five-lateral classic against Stanford.

Kapp also was the clever, unorthodox All-American quarterback who led Cal to its last Rose Bowl game appearance during the 1958 season — 65 years ago.

“He was the ultimate teammate, the toughest leader I’ve ever been around — The Toughest Chicano,” said former Cal lineman Pete Demoto, referring to Kapp’s nickname. “You always knew that Joe had your back. He was the man, a great motivator. He had a burning desire to compete and perform well, one of those things you’re born with.”

Kapp truly had his teammates’ back, regardless of the sport. When a USC basketball player roughed up Cal’s Earl Robinson, at halftime Kapp went into the Trojans locker room, walked up to the perpetrator, and said, “When the fight starts, you look for me, because I’ll be looking for you.” Things calmed down in the second half.

Kapp wasn’t a picture-perfect quarterback, but after playing in Canada, he led the Minnesota Vikings into the Super Bowl, setting an NFL record en route by throwing seven touchdown passes in a single game.

“He was so unpredictable, so unorthodox,” said Skip Vanderbundt, who played against Kapp with the 49ers. “In 1969, snowing in Minnesota, he slid six, seven yards into the end zone to beat us, then said to me, ‘Can you believe that?’ He wasn’t very fast, but he wouldn’t shy away from combat. He was a throwback who loved to compete, one of the last of a kind.”

The last of a kind might apply to all three throwbacks — Wilcox, Blue, Kapp. R.I.P., gentlemen.

* * *

Dave Newhouse's journalism career spans more than half a century, including 45 years at the Oakland Tribune before his retirement in November 2011. Newhouse is the author of 19 books. His most recent book, Goodbye, Oakland, is available in bookstores and on amazon.com. Dave grew up in Menlo Park, graduated from San Jose State, and has radio and television experience, in addition to his work as an award-winning sportswriter and columnist. For earlier articles by Dave published in Sports Today, click HERE

San Francisco Giants 3

Milwaukee Brewers 7

Oracle Park, Sunday, May 7

Never too late for an autograph and Giants catcher Blake Sabol graciously obliged. Sabol would go 3-4 on the afternoon, raising his average to .264. Photo by Rich Yee.

Hot hitting first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. went 2-5, including one double and one RBI. Photo by Rich Yee.

This fan's allegiance cannot be questioned. Photo by Rich Yee.

While dropping Sunday's game, the Giants took the home series, 2-1. To view a game photo album, visit our Facebook Page and be sure to LIKE us or visit www.ultimatesportsguide.net. Photo by Rich Yee.

Oakland A's 0

Texas Rangers 5

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Saturday, May 13

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher James Kaprielian weathered a rough start to strike out seven over seven innings as the A's fell to the Texas Rangers, 5-0, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Saturday, May 13th.

Caption and photo by Darren Yamashita.

Third baseman Jace Peterson broke up a no-hitter with a single in the seventh inning. Caption and photo by Darren Yamashita.

Center fielder Esteury Ruiz steals second base, his 18th stolen bag of the season. Caption and photo by Darren Yamashita.

Young fans sitting in the upper deck are shown on the main scoreboard during the seventh inning. To view an annotated photo album, visit our Facebook Page and be sure to LIKE us or visit www.ultimatesportsguide.net. Caption and photo by Darren Yamashita.

A Bay Area Treasure

(Reprinted below is Bruce Macgowan's interview with Vida Blue from our issue on September 13, 2001 (#398). We are delighted to

share it again.)

Of 92 players to appear for both the Giants and A's,

Vida Blue stands apart

Vida Blue – Blazing Left-Handed Pitcher

By Bruce Macgowan

The name ‘VIDA’ means 'LIFE' in Spanish. Former big league star Vida Blue proudly wore that name on the back of his jersey throughout a 17-year major league career which started in Oakland and ended across the bay in San Francisco.

“I came from a big family and my dad was a very hard working man who worked in a steel mill,” Vida told me. “He gave me that name. I’m very proud of that name.”

But Blue’s father died in his early 40s of cancer after breathing in the poisoned air of the mill for many years.

“He never got to see me play in the major leagues,” Blue sadly explained to me.

For those who remember, Vida Blue broke into the big leagues in 1970 but his first full year with the A’s in 1971 was legendary. Blue finished with a 24-8 record, had the lowest ERA in baseball at 1.82 while piling up 24 complete games, including eight shutouts. Oh, and by the way, Vida also struck out 301 batters that year while making the first of six All Star teams.

Sadly, the A’s rarely enjoyed big crowds in Oakland during the 1970s, even through they were in the playoffs five years in a row and won three straight World Series, a feat that wasn’t duplicated until the Yankees turned the trick almost three decades later.

But when Blue pitched, whether it was at the Oakland Coliseum or on the road, packed houses would show up. Vida’s ‘Blue blazer,’ which topped out at about 95 miles an hour, also had movement and not only intimidated but also flustered opposing hitters.

Blue was only 22 years old in 1971, but he was on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time magazine and many other national publications that year as he won both the Cy Young and the MVP awards.

But cantankerous A’s owner Charlie Finley, who never connected with the East Bay, made life miserable not only for Blue but others on the team. The meddling Finley was constantly hounding his manager, Dick Williams, who eventually quit in frustration moments after the A’s beat the New York Mets in the World Series of 1973.

“Charlie really took the fun out of the game for me,” Blue recalled years later when I interviewed him on stage at a theater in Marin County.

“First he told me he’d pay me $5,000 if I’d change my name to ‘True Blue,’ but I said my dad gave me that name and I didn’t want to do it. He didn’t take that too well.”

Vida admitted that Finley discovered a lot of A’s who went on to become stars for the team, but along the way he alienated practically all of them.

After his brilliant 1971 season Blue expected a hefty raise. After all, he had not only sparked the A’s to an AL West title but the big crowds had flocked to see him pitch all season, boosting the A’s poor attendance.

But Finley refused to give this young star what he asked for. Blue then held out in Spring Training and threatened to quit the A’s.

Vida Blue, plumbing executive

“There was an issue of Sports Illustrated early that season that had a picture of me on the cover with the words: ‘Vida Blue -- plumbing executive.’ “

Vida had half-seriously told a few reporters that he would quit baseball and go to work for a large plumbing firm, but it was probably a ploy just to try and leverage more money out of the tight fisted, curmudgeonly Finley.

The two men eventually settled on a deal for a little over $40,000, but Blue got off to a rocky start that season after missing spring training and finished with a disappointing 6-10 record while the A’s upset the ‘Big Red Machine’ National League champions from Cincinnati for their first World Series title.

Blue came back to win 59 games over the next three seasons, as the ‘Swinging A’s’ dominated the game. But they were also known for their frequent scraps in the clubhouse and local sportswriter Ron Bergman of the Oakland Tribune gleefully reported on them after witnessing several first hand.

“Bergie’ was just trying to sell papers. Sure we got into some scraps, but we were like brothers. You know how brothers are. We’d fight sometimes but if anyone tried to fight one of us, watch out!”

When free agency hit baseball in 1975, Finley started trading his stars or losing them to other teams who paid them more. Reggie Jackson was shipped to Baltimore and eventually ended up with the Yankees, Rollie Fingers and Sal Bando went to Milwaukee and Joe Rudi to the Angels.

Vida stuck around until Finley traded him to the San Francisco Giants before the 1978 season for five forgettable players. With the Giants Blue found new life, leading a resurgent ball club that featured a terrific pitching staff into contention. He sparked the Giants with a team leading 18 wins, and Candlestick Park rocked with excitement as the surprising Giants were in first place most of the season.

“We were up by something like six games going into September but we faded badly because we didn’t have any players who had been in a pennant chase,” Blue lamented.

“We had a really good team in San Francisco; a young Jack Clark, Bill Madlock, Darrell Evans, Larry Herndon, John ‘The Count’ Montefusco and Willie McCovey,” (McCovey was just off a Comeback Player of the Year award season at the age of 39).

There are a lot of people who think Vida Blue belongs in the Hall of Fame. After all, his career numbers are virtually equal to those of his former teammate, Catfish Hunter, who is in the Cooperstown shrine.

“That would be really nice. That would be like the cherry on top,” he told a San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist recently

* * *

Long-time Bay Area sportscaster Bruce Macgowan has been recording his 45 years of broadcast experience for a forthcoming book to be published shortly. For earlier articles by Magowan published in

Sports Today, click HERE.

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San Francisco Giants

Casey Schmitt made his Major League debut with the Giants on Tuesday, culminating in a home run and a Giants win. Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look of Schmitt's day in San Francisco, leading up to his memorable debut.

More Casey Schmitt Highlights

Twitter: Team's clubhouse celebration

Facebook: Schmitt goes yard, family celebrates

Twitter: Photos of Schmitt's debut

Goodbye, Oakland

Dave Newhouse and Andy Dolich invite you to

a discussion and book signing of

Goodbye, Oakland

Tuesday, May 16 in Berkeley

Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore

2904 College Avenue

7-8:30 pm

Books will be available for purchase

Note: THIS EVENT is free but pre-registration is required. Registration ends at 4:30 pm on May 16th.

(510) 704-8222

For great advertising rates call: APG Sports,

P.O. Box 3164, Fremont, CA 94539. Dir tel: 510-579-0682

Hardly Trivial by T. Buff

Last week's trivia question asked which is the NBA's winningest franchise. The answer is that the Lakers and the Celtics are both tied at 17. This year the Celtics and Lakers are in their respective conference finals. If the Nuggets and Heat fall, that tie will be broken. While the two winningest teams are tied...

who is the proud owner of the most NBA

Championship rings?

Hint: Of course, it is not a player!

Answer below...

Dubs' Report

Aaaargghhh!

by Howard Pearlstein

So that’s it, season’s over, and with it, all the Flopsy, Mopsy and Call the Foul and the joking about the Tourist season being upon us and getting smartass to all those friends and relatives from back East who want to know: What’s a good California wine?

And saying, Here’s one -- “Ref! That mean old Draymond Green bumped me in my po-po and made me fall down! Call a foul.”

Or “Ref! Gary Payton went up higher than me for the rebound and then he farted in my face and it scared me!”

(AND from the Lakers bench: “FLAGRANT! FLAGRANT! Head and neck area!”)

(AND from the Dubs bench: “He’s 6’2”! If he got up higher than you, then it’s your own damn fault!”)

Joking that those were the most popular California Whines these days, except out here we call that “embellishment.” And people were paying $30,000 a ticket to sit courtside and watch them flop and whimper.

Just not as funny now. Sure they did all their sneaky, creepy stuff, BUT…

I’m not going to rant and rave – well, just a little rant, even if I use Bill Maher’s phrase “whiney little bitches” to describe the LA Lakers who were becoming known as the LA Fakers because they rely so much on getting themselves “fouled.” Bill Maher was even there himself, sitting courtside at a $30,000 seat.

When you win a game by five points because you have 29 free throws, something is not right. They’re not playing the game – they’re playing the refs. They’re gaming the system. They get the wins. They just don’t get – or deserve – respect. BUT…

Know who gets our respect? This year in the playoffs? The Sacramento Kings. Because they’re a really good team, play hard and tough. They may even be the best team in California, despite the fact that we managed to win that seventh game.

But the Fakers? Their coach sez: “We don’t teach flopping.” Of course not. They draft and trade and sign players who are already good at it. So true—

BUT..

I’m not saying they don’t have some really good, maybe even great players – Russell is scary good, so are Parker and Reaves. Some of them have their flashes of used-to-be greatness, like LeBron or Angelo Davis. But when you cover the spread with jive-ass foul shots, it devalues the game and asks for a much-needed asterisk on the win.

Hell, even Jeff Van Gundy was insisting – on air, that the NBA had to change the rules.

BUT…

You can say: “You gotta give it to them, they wind up with the wins.” To which I say -- always a smartass” – “Yeah, you gotta give it to them, because they’re not going to take it by themselves. Get a ref to give it to them. Yeah, all that lowlife low class sleazy manipulation …

BUT…

BUT in the final analysis, they ALSO made their shots and the Dubs didn’t, so that was that.

Congrats to the Lakers – I don’t like them. don’t respect them.

BUT… they won. Game over.

* * *

Howard Pearlstein has been a few places and done a few things.

An old friend once said, "Howard, you live your life like you're trying to fill in a dust jacket blurb." Well, then all I have to do is write a book that will get published.

Chuck Norris -- from the Autograph Collection of Rich Yee

I met California Karate Champion Chuck Norris at a Los Angeles Celebrity Show many years ago . He was nice and I remember chatting with him about his role in the movie, Return Of The Dragon, which he made with Bruce Lee. I bought this photo from Chuck Norris and he signed it for me.

Rich Yee, Sports Today photographer

San Jose Earthquakes 1

LA Galaxy 2

Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, Sunday, May 14

Ousseni Bouda (right) celebrates with his teammates after scoring first MLS goal

Earthquakes 1, LA Galaxy 2

Quakes visit LAFC next Saturday

CARSON, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to the LA Galaxy 2-1 on Sunday evening at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. Forward Ousseni Bouda scored the lone goal for the Quakes, marking the first goal of his MLS career.

After a scoreless first half, LA took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Martin Caceres in the 60th minute. San Jose looked for the equalizer, but the Galaxy later doubled the score through Dejan Joveljić in second half stoppage time. The Quakes pulled a goal back three minutes later through Ousseni Bouda but were unable to level the scoring in the final moments of the match.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE

www.sjearthquakes.com

Oakland Roots SC 3

Orange County SC 0

Pioneer Park, Hayward, Saturday, May 13

Oakland Roots Eviscerate Orange County 3-0

Following Oakland Soul’s inaugural home match — a historic 1-0 win over Olympic Club — the Oakland Roots made it six points out of six for Oakland soccer after a convincing 3-0 win over SoCal rivals Orange County SC on Saturday night.

Just after the half-hour mark, Roots won a 50/50 ball in front of OC’s box; the ball fell to Darek Formella on the far post, who rifled the ball home with gusto for his team-leading fourth goal of the season. The club-record 5,855 fans in attendance flew into a frenzy.

Roots doubled their lead three minutes before halftime. Off of a short corner kick, Lindo Mfeka volleyed a cross into the near post and defender Tarek Morad rose to head it home.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE .

www.oaklandrootssc.com

Oakland Soul SC 1

Olympic Club 0

Pioneer Park, Hayward, Saturday, May 13

Oakland Soul Achieves Lift Off in Home Opener

In its first-ever home match, Oakland Soul defeated San Francisco-based Olympic Club 1-0 in front of a raucous crowd of 5,855 at Pioneer Stadium.

After last week’s season opening 3-2 win against the Stockton Cargo, Oakland Soul is still undefeated in its inaugural W League season

(2-0-0).

Led by UCLA-bound goalkeeper Layla Armas, Soul weathered some early attacks from Olympic Club but managed to enter the second half with a clean sheet. They were unlucky not to score as well; speedy forward Aliyah Jones got in behind a few times but couldn’t tuck one away. Kaytlin Brinkman threatened Lauren Racioppi’s goal with one long shot that knuckled in front of her and led to a corner kick.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

www.oaklandsoulsc.com

Cal Bears

No. 1 Cal Repeats As Pac-12 Champions

Cal Wins V8+, 2V8+, Freshmen 8+ Races

LOWELL, Ore. – The No. 1 California men's rowing team had another outstanding weekend of racing, securing the Pac-12 Championship title for the second year in a row. After winning the 2V8+ race, The Golden Bears had a three-point lead in the standings going into the final race as they split the 3V8+ and freshmen 8+ races with Washington, leaving it up to the varsity eight crew to bring home the title.

In the V8+ race, Cal and Washington were even through the start but the Bears we able to build a deck lead in the opening 500 meters. Cal continued to push and opened a bow to stern lead through the halfway mark. The Bears didn't let up and grew their lead to open water in the third 500 meters, managing to finish four seconds ahead of Washington in a time of 5:34.673 to secure the Pac-12 Championship.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

www.calbears.com

Stanford Cardinal

Back-to-Back Pac-12 Champions

No. 4 Stanford captured its second consecutive Pac-12 Team Championship Sunday at the conference championship regatta, held at Dexter Lake.

LOWELL, Ore. – No. 4 Stanford captured its second consecutive conference title Sunday, winning the 2023 Pac-12 Women's Rowing Championships held on Dexter Lake.

Stanford won the title by three-and-a-half points points, a point greater than its two-and-a-half-point victory over Washington in 2022. Washington finished in second place, while California earned a bronze-medal finish.

continued...

By Stanford Athletics. For a full report, click HERE.

www.gostanford.com

San Jose State Spartans

Sjostrand Breaks Record, Wins MW Long Jump Title in Day Two of MW Championships

CLOVIS, Calif.— Emilia Sjostrand won the Mountain West title in the Women's Long Jump in record-setting fashion to lead San José State in the second day of competition at the MW Outdoor Championships.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

#AllSpartans

www.sjsuspartans.com

Saint Mary's College Gaels

Saint Mary’s Blanks BYU Twice on Senior Day

to End Season in Style

MORAGA, Calif. — The ending to the 2023 Saint Mary's softball season sure was a special one. After nearly taking the series opener from BYU on Friday, the Gaels came back with two more masterpieces from their young pitching staff, blanking BYU 2-0 in both games to eliminate the Cougars from WCC title contention. Saint Mary's finishes the season 20-29 and 9-6 in WCC play, the most wins in a season since 2016 and the most conference wins they've ever accumulated in the WCC.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

#GaelsRise

www.smcgaels.com

USF Dons

Outdoor Track and Field Wrap Up Time at

Azusa Last Chance

AZUSA, Calif.—The Dons wrap up their last meet of the regular season at the 2023 Azusa Last Chance Meet, with a small but quality group, as all three athletes have put themselves in the mix to extend their outdoor seasons at regionals in 2 weeks time.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

www.usfdons.com

Santa Clara Broncos

Two Named All-WCC for Women's Rowing

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Women's rowing finished its season at the WCC Championships on Saturday. Andreana Matgaritis and Victoria Cerny were named All-WCC after the races.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

www.santaclarabroncos.com

University of Pacific Tigers

Pacific Rolls Through BYU on Senior Day

STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific baseball (14-31, 6-18) wrapped up its home season with an 11-5 win over BYU (22-27, 11-13). The seniors led the way; Marvcus Guarin got the start on the mound, Tyler Stout picked up the win by pitching in relief, and Quinlan Sweany got the final out to secure the win for the Tigers.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

www.pacifictigers.com

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Watch any program on CCE's YouTube channel, or, for attorneys, earn MCLE credits online, economically, with "The Best in Topics and Talent."

Center for Continuing Education, Monterey, CA is a State Bar of California MCLE approved Provider, #8450

https://www.cce-mcle.com/

The popular fan walk returns this weekend. 2022 Photo by Marc Miramontez

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Experiences Largest Advance Sales Increase in History for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

VIP Hospitality Sells Out for the First Time

MONTEREY, Calif., May 10, 2023— When advance ticket sales concludes today at 5 p.m. for this weekend’s Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N, it will represent the largest year over year increase in history for the series at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

General Admission ticket sales increased 35 percent over 2022, which represents WeatherTech Raceway’s largest sales gain for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. It also is likely the largest year over year increase in Monterey since the inaugural year of the American Le Mans Series in 1999 before its unification with Grand Am for the 2014 season.

continued...

Click HERE.

www.weathertechraceway.com

$25 College Race Ticket Offer Announced for Toyota/Save Mart 350

.edu email address unlocks ticket offer at

Sonoma Raceway!

SONOMA, Calif. (May 11, 2023) – It’s graduation season, and in celebration of grads and NASCAR’s stop at the famed West Coast road course, Sonoma Raceway is extending an exclusive opportunity to all college students with a valid .edu email address. Students can now purchase tickets for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 on June 11 for the exceptional price of only $25.

continued...

Click HERE.

www.sonomaraceway.com

St. Francis Yacht Club

Kiwis Podium at Casa Vela Cup in the

Women's World Match Racing Tour

On April 25-28, StFYC hosted the first stop of the 2023 Women’s World Match Racing Tour, with 10 of the top international teams competing over four days of round-robin racing. Teams hailed from the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Great Britain and Denmark, with boatloads of talent engaging in fast-paced duels in the Club’s J/22s in close proximity to the Clubhouse, making for great spectating accompanied by live commentary from match racing legend Liz Baylis during semi-finals and finals on Thursday and Friday.

continued...

For a full report, click HERE.

Oakland Spiders 25, Salt Lake Shred 27

Fremont High School, Oakland, Saturday, May 13

Under warmer than expected beautiful skies and light winds, the Oakland Spiders took to already warm field as their game followed a showcase of the Rising Stars and a women’s game made up of select players 15 to 40+, covering local high schools, colleges and club teams, produced by the Bay Area Disc Association (BADA), which led into Mother’s Day. The Spiders kept the game close as no team had more than a two-point lead at any time and went into overtime on a last second, fumbled catch and score by the Spiders as regulation time expired to tie the score, who eventually fell to the Shred in overtime, 27-25. Above, getting the game and his professional ultimate career off to an early start, 18-year-old rookie Raekwon Adkins (#30) hauls in his first goal as a Spider in the opening minutes, as the Oakland Spiders played host to the Salt Lake Shred, AUDL West Division, at Fremont High School,

Oakland, CA. Caption and photo by Ron Sellers.

Daly City local Morgan Sommer (#28) goes up for the poster shot catch

midway through the first quarter. Caption and photo by Ron Sellers.

Under heavy defensive pressure all day, the Spiders had to work through and usually under or around the defending mark. Here team co-captain Keenan Laurence (#51) steps out low to throw a massive backhand downfield. Note the warping of the disc in its shape, some serious physics being applied Caption and photo by Ron Sellers.

Matt Hecht (#7) uses his body to shield the defending mark from knocking the disc out of its intended path, as both players take to the air in the fourth quarter. To view a photo album, visit our Facebook Page and be sure to LIKE us or visit www.ultimatesportsguide.net. Caption and

photo by Ron Sellers.

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Hardly Trivial Answer by T. Buff

Red Auerbach -- 16 rings

Who else could it be? This link will take you to the folks that won a bunch of NBA Championship rings and did more than play the game. "The Boston Celtics are currently tied with the Lakers for being the most decorated NBA franchise with

17 championships and Red Auerbach was a part

of 16 of them."

This link will take you to a site called 'Stacks Reader.'

It's a great interview with Red after he is totally

retired from the game.

Go Celtics!